Re: So, performace upgrades, whats first... (archive)

Others will tell you to put in chips, exhaust, etc. I've done that myself. But a word of warning: First, ask yourself what you really looking for? If its more "ommph" in day-to-day driving, forget the chips and exhaust.

I have Dinan chips and a custom exhaust and while they do what they're advertised to do, they don't make significant additional power until 4000 rpm. How often will you really see that? I honestly don't very often and feel like I would have done better skipping the modifications and using the money I saved to buy the extra gas I'd buy spending more time in sport mode.

Plus, with the chips you'll have to switch to premium fuel.

But I'm a U.S. driver stuck in city traffic most of the time and with highways full of left-lane slowpokes the rest of the time. Maybe you're luckier than me. Or maybe you're prepping to run this in an autocross.

If you want something that's a bit quicker off the line and gives you realistic, "real world" extra performance in day-to-day driving, get rid of the stock 3.15 rear end and put in a qualife (sp?) aftermarket limited slip or the 3.65 limited slip that came stock from '92 on. If you don't, you won't be seeing all that extra horsepower from the chips until about 120mph. Also, the stock torque converter has way to low a stall speed for serious acceleration.

Expect to see a mileage penalty with the rear-end change, plus it'll throw you're speed sensor off.

Honestly, the 750 is a wonderful luxury performance sedan, but not much of a candidate for hot rodding, at least not at a reasonable budget. It's way to heavy to be a true sports car, and the drivetrain is a bit odd: a somewhat "cammy" 5.0 liter V12 hooked to an automatic transmission that doesn't have a particularly high stall speed, in a 4300 pound car. Chips and exhaust systems are not going to change that basic equation. Absent some seriously expensive mods (e.g., turbos), it's never going to snap your neck on acceleration.

So avoid investing in the horsepower modes, stick it in sport mode when you feel like it, and be satisfied that of the cars our there that can beat you, few of them are as comfortable to drive, and their owners probably at paying $5000 a year for insurance.

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